Think About It!

"Give us this day our daily bread..." Food for thought: More and more we're becoming a nation of individuals who base our decisions and positions on intuition, gut reaction, and emotional response, rather than rational thought and informed reflection. Critical thinking is the prerequisite to any true republic (America) in which a great deal of power is constitutionally entrusted to "We the people..." As Jamie McKenzie observes in the Educational Technology Journal, "Democratic societies require citizens capable of challenging conventional wisdom, the propaganda of zealots and demagogues, as well as the platitudes and bland assurances of those in office who would like us to suspend critical judgment when systems break down." Do you really want to be at the mercy of ANYone who will think for you?! If not, then you'd better start (truly) thinking for yourself! An informed and involved citizenry is one of the most powerful strengths of this great country--and the only thing that will maintain it. God gifted us with liberty, it is our job to cherish and guard that liberty!

How Smart is the Smartphone?

Here at Calvary we're utilizing the latest technology to allow members to tap into unlimited resources on their smartphone to optimize their experience in Bible study and worship. Church goers can use their smartphone to access Scripture, sermon notes, and more, all while the sermon is actually being preached. Wow, that sounds like an incredible TV commercial! And it's all true, but it gets me to thinking…

I know that in our modern culture that many people don't want to rely on their own God-given intelligence to function, and so put all their confidence in a man-made device called a smartphone. Granted, many people's evaluation is correct—they don't have the natural intellectual abilities God gave a duck, thus depending on a smartphone to think for them is actually the most intelligent thing they can do. Back when I was a kid (wow, I sound like my grandfather), the phone was something that sat on the credenza in the hallway, that when it rang (just plain old rrrrrrrrrrring, not Beethoven's 5th, the Tarzan yell, or the latest from Lady Gaga) either everyone would avoid like the plague, or risk life and limb to be the first to get to, depending on the mood in the house and/or the nature of the potential caller. It sat stoic and unmoving—and did ONE thing—transmitted the human voice via cable connections. The next thing you know, not only does every person on the planet have one (Side bar: did you know that in most major metropolitan hospitals now, that upon birth every child is issued a rattle, a pacifier, and a cell phone?!), but most have them surgically attached to their head! It still freaks me out when someone I have never seen before is walking directly towards me talking as if he/she knows me, when in reality they are talking into an unseen, embedded communication device known as a Bluetooth. I'm still tempted to call the local psychiatric hospital when I see someone "consulting" a row of green beans in the grocery store, only to find out they were making a food decision with their "significant other" via Bluetooth. Which brings up another topic, this constant, gotta-have-it-or-die attachment to our communication devices and communication itself, has literally turned us into a society unable to make any kind of decision on our own. Since when does it take serious deliberation and counsel to choose between 49 and 63 cent green beans? Come on, it's a can of beans—not the Cuban Missile Crisis!

Now I'm not naïve enough to think that people use smartphones simply for communication or information gathering on the web (important stuff like what time Twilight 12 or Harry Potter 23 is showing). People play video games—lots of video games! Return to "grandpa mode"—back when I was a kid there were two games—Pac Man and Donkey Kong. Even later when I was in Air Force pilot training, they had really only added two games: Defender and Galaga. We played these repeatedly because we needed to hone our hand-eye coordination, spatial perception, and catlike reflexes—hey, we were keeping the "friendly skies" friendly! Now nearly every person has enough games loaded into their smartphone to play a different game every hour of every day until the world ends (which according to the technological astrobiogeopharmacological knowledge of the Mayans is scheduled for 2012). What's up with that?! Just how many games can a person play, and just how exciting can it be to play a game on a screen the size of a postage stamp?! It might have "awesome graphics" but who would know!?

And don't get me started on texting…especially texting in a car! Are you kidding me?! Most people have a hard enough time driving and changing the radio station, but now people are driving while having a heartfelt convo with their BFF, breaking up with their former love interest, and making their case before mom and dad for a few more chow bucks so they can eat at Bonefish and not have to "slum it" at Outback. As John Stossel would say, "GIVE ME A BREAK!"

Anyway, now all these things are available at the touch of a button in our worship service. As with so many of our "modern miracles", we have to ask ourselves, does this really improve our lives, or open another Pandora's Box? I guess time will tell…

DISCLAIMER: I am not really anti-technology, although I have been labeled as technologically challenged. Sometimes I just feel the need to "rage against the machine". I do know that Bluetooth and smartphone technology is being used for many wonderful things. I just think we're becoming a little too dependent on this technology. After all, if God had meant for us to be constantly attached to a Bluetooth, He would have planted them in our head next to our bicuspids …uh oh, here we go again. CIAO!

Coming UP: Our Crazy Language

Yeeha! It's time to kick off my "other" site. This one is my personal site where I ponder the imponderables, question the unquestionable, and mention the unmentionables (especially considering that Hanes is rewarding bloggers for talking about their products). In this blog I will just share the thoughts that pop into my head from time to time--and trust me things are always popping in there! My kids' new favorite term now is "random", as in, "Wow Dad, that was random!" This randomness may make me hard to live with, trust me it does--and I should know, I'm with myself almost constantly. However, it also makes life interesting, and never dull. I'm interested in people, their attitudes, values, and behavior. I'm interested in humor and what makes people laugh. I'm interested in politics (and that's no laughing matter). I'm interested in language and our use of words. I'm interested in music, movies, and books. So what I'm saying is that on this blog there is no specific subject, anything is fair game (well, as long as it's G rated). I know some people have specific topics they address like mold formations in their home, or gastro-intestinal ailments of their family; that's fine for them, but not for me. My theme song is "Don't Fence Me In". So much for the much ado about nothing, on with our inaugural foray into blogdom.

In order to better facilitate our church's mission trips to the Dominican Republic I've once again promised myself that I would learn Spanish. I am getting back into the groove. I did take a semester of Spanish in high school (yes, they had Spanish back then--it's not an ancient language), and I did retain some key words from that academic endeavor--pero-dog, gato-cat, and mariposa-butterfly. These words are indispensable if you're visiting a veterinarian or the set of Animal Planet, otherwise, not so much. Anyway, as I was relearning the "o, as, a, amos, an, an" conjugation thing, I began thinking about how difficult it must be for those trying to learn English. Take the simple word UP for example. It must be hard for those learning our language to fully comprehend how this word can be used in so many contexts.

It's easy to understand up as it relates to the sky or the top of a list. However, at a meeting in the office why does a topic come UP? Why is it up to the secretary to write UP a report about that meeting? Why do we speak UP? When we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

Sometimes this little word has a big meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, think UP excuses, and make UP a story. To be dressed is one thing, to be dressed UP is special.

Sometimes UP presents a paradox. How is it that a drain that is stopped UP must be opened UP? Why is that we open UP a store in the morning yet close it UP at night? How can it be that UPtown and downtown are the same place? Why is it when we hurry UP, more lethargic individuals always want us to slow UP? Why do we break UP, but we also make UP?

"What's UP?" became the unofficial greeting of choice for the buster generation. Then, thanks to an inane beer commercial decades ago, the unfathomable, guttural "wassUP?" became the most overused non-word in human history. Finally, I guess because the traditional "what's UP" greeting required too much effort, the mosaic generation coined the currently popular 'sUP?

We lock UP the house, polish UP the silver, Brighten UP a room, call up our friends, warm UP the leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen.

I could go on and on. I know--you're saying, please Mike, do go on and on. But alas my time is done. But you can go on and on yourself. I've merely touched the tip of the iceberg--if you are UP to it, come UP with a list of the many ways UP is used. It won't take UP much of your time, and if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. Well, my time is UP, so I'm gonna wrap it UP. Hey, what's UP next? Guess you'll have to check it out later, or not, it's UP to you! Until next time...

P.S. Thanks for not asking me to shut UP!